Transportation

Transportation is needed for self-advocates to be part of their communities and to attend meetings and medical appointments. At the 2014 Self-Advocacy Summit, we hosted a meeting with Transportation Ministry staff to talk about our concerns and their plan. Here is a summary of that meeting.

‘Let’s Talk about Transportation’

Discussion
with Albertans with Disabilities

Facilitated by:

Alan
Windhorst, Alberta Transportation

Brad
Robertson and Colleen Huston, Disability Action Hall

On Saturday, June 14,
2014; twenty people with disabilities and supporters gathered together to talk
about the 50 year Provincial Transportation Strategy.https://www.transportation.alberta.ca/ABTransStrategyhome.htmWe had an hour and a half to facilitate the discussion. We then split the hour and
half meeting into 2 parts:
Part 1: We facilitated a talk about
people telling us where they are from and asked “What is transportation like
where you live?” People reported to live in southern rural communities,
Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Calgary, Red Deer, Grande Prairie and shared their
experiences of what transportation was like in the communities they live.

Part 2:In the second part, Alan Windhorst
then shared a short film and PowerPoint point about the draft vision, goals and
suggested actions for the Alberta’s 50 year plan. The draft report can be found
on the Alberta Transportation Website.

Here is what people said.

Part 1: Tell us where you are from and what is transportation like where you
live?

1. Calgary:

Calgary Transit, so far, so good.

Transportation is pretty good for me, but
people who use wheelchairs and other devices it is not that great.

We could do a lot better with waiting
times, Sunday and winters are really unpredictable. People with disabilities
and low-income; make it better.

Great city if you own a car or know someone
who can drive you. Or if using Access, huge problem of affordability and
availability.

Low-income transit pass $$ at $44 a month
is expensive

And access, not a lot of buses.

C-trains, you have to go fast getting on
and off. Trains and buses leave too fast, they don’t stop long enough.

The ACE Card (Access Calgary Extra) card is
a ‘spontaneous taxi card’ to help go places. The Driver only knows the balance
when it bounces. People sitting on edge of chair hoping to get home.

It is an electronic card that advocates
fought hard to keep when the City took over ‘special needs taxi’ taxi service. Not
all Access Calgary users get is as you have to be medically fragile, unsafe
traveling at night or have a dementia or you get lost easily.

The card monthly balance use to be $90, but
it was cut to around $ 40 when the city took over. More advocates fought to
increase the monthly amount to $65 due to the size of Calgary.It is good solution in smaller rural areas
where there is no public transportation and only taxis.

It is an opportunity to use
technology.

But there is no phone number on the card to
find out your balance.

It is a challenge- it would be helpful to
find out the balance before you take a trip.

Steps to a c-train are too steep. No ramps
in places. Ramp designs are no universal Take a long time. The new c-train
designs also have less seats, and you have to stand more.

People don’t get up so you can sit down.

In Edmonton and in Calgary there is a campaign
to be nice to people, be clean and not hog the seat with your backpack. (Alan -
Alberta Transportation has heard many municipalities don’t have enough $ and
need funding for public transit capital like LRT and buses, as well as funding
to operate them.)

There are 4 doors on c-trains, but you can
only use the 2 inner doors. It should be every door. Why aren’t all doors
accessible?

Brentwood LRT, no ramp one day. Told to
take bus. Could not get on the LRT.

Access Calgary waits on the phone, for a ½
hour to get an answer on my own personal cell phone, and the window of 20
minutes is not reasonable.

And why are alterations to a scheduled trip
going on a wait list/cannot make an alteration, why?

Routes do not connect well from a BRT/LRT
stop. It’s a good long walk to catch the buses and make sure connections meet
on time.

Buses don’t come frequently and often take
the train as I had bad experiences in winter using buses. Really tough.

I use the U-Pass as I go to university and
the price is included in our student fees.

I am reliant on people to take me to the
less accessible places in our City and outside of our City.

I would like to be in nature more and to go
the mountains or inside the Calgary parks.

I usually walk or trike, but even using my
trike I cannot ride downtown.

If transit is different, different ways to
use alternative transportation.

Feel very marginalized.

There are over half a million people in
Alberta with disabilities. 1 in 7 Albertans. Accessible, affordable public
transportation around our province is needed.

It seems like there are two separate laws,
one for cars and on for buses. It is not equal. On buses, we are treated like
sardines. We need 1 law, not 2 different
laws and we need priorities for safety and to us to use private cars less and
off the road.

2. Calgary/Whitecourt:

I am moving at the end of the month to
Whitecourt. Right now I take the LRT and use the low-income transit bus pass. I
buy a new one every month.

Have to make appointments in advance to go
to Edmonton. Could be better.

I use a walker, some of the ramps and drop
off points, they won’t put the ramp down sometimes – depends on the driver. As
I use a walker. I’ve fallen and injured myself.

Sundays the service does not start until 8
am. You gotta walk, no late buses.

Got to get groceries. I have to walk. There
a service; does not start

Have to wait an hour if I miss the bus.

Have to stop life by 6 pm.

Drunk people on the bus. Sometimes they bug
me. People are mean to me. I know the driver’s names and I know the supervisor
but I get sick of having to ask the driver to help. (Safety and being a target
on bus).

In rush hour they try different buses.

Drivers are grumpy.

Bigger buses and sometimes they are smaller
buses.

There are different sized for different
vehicles and even natural gas buses to help us use less polluting vehicles.

Buses are not full, yet the drivers say
they are full and they go right past you. Or they say they are full and they
are not. I walked two blocks and it was pretty windy with my walker.

During rush hour impossible to get on due to
full capacity, cannot get on.

4. Lethbridge and surrounding rural
communities:

We don’t have a low-income transit pass, we
pay full price. With limited income, disabilities, seniors and new-immigrants;
Public transit does not reflect how people need to go and cabs are expensive.

There is no transportation system in rural
communities; having to rely on staff or services like “Access-A-Ride” but have
to work book a work week in advance- can’t just come out.

Smaller communities just don’t have public
transportation.

Greyhound does not exist for Doctor
appointments. Not spontaneous, planned. Can’t be part of community.

Handibus drivers get cranky if I don’t give
enough notice.

I struggle just to get my bus pass out of
my jacket, with my walker, especially in winter.

5. Medicine Hat:

Greyhound use to go to Lethbridge. Now we
need someone to take us. Now we take the Greyhound from Medicine Hat to
Calgary, then we go to Lethbridge.

There is now a shuttle service.

I don’t know much about special transit. I
pay $ 65 a month- $ 2.75 a ride, but bus drivers move before I sit down.

Drivers can be unfriendly

Service does not reflect where we need to
get to; I can’t go to Tiger games now. It is a $ 12 bus ride- no new transit
until the new arena is done even though there are lots of houses around.

Now new transit manager is a little better.

They (buses) run late to pick them up.

Can’t get to work by 6 as transit service
starts at 6:45 am and I can’t get to Tiger Games.

Glenda and I share a bus pass as I work out
of town. I go to Elkwater where my work is, about an hour and ½ drive away
(near Cypress Hills).

Share a bus pass when I am not home. (Affordability?)

Transit driver service and let us go on
even though the pass is expired 2 days ago.

We walk a lot of places. (Because it is
expensive and service is limited)

6. Grande Prairie:

Shows free bus pass. All I have to do is
how ID and my medical services card 2 times a month. It’s easy to apply.

Transit is free because they had a very
good mayor fight for people.

Transit is free in Grande Prairie if you
live on AISH, seniors have a different process.

And
in Banff, transit is free if you are a senior, person with a disability or live
on low-income.

Part 2: Alberta Transportation Strategy
Update by Alan Windhorst

Alan Windhorst is the Senior Manager of
Transportation Corridors, Alberta Transportation and has worked in the
government department for the last seven years. Alan talked to us about the
videos, radio & TV Ads telling Albertans to give input on the development
of the 50-year Strategy, which asked about what needs to be the priorities for
the Alberta Government. We saw the short video titled ‘Learn more about the
Transportation Strategy for Alberta’ and it can be seen on this website. https://www.transportation.alberta.ca/ABTransStrategyhome.htm

Here is what the website also says:

"The Government of Alberta is developing a
Transportation Strategy for Alberta that will provide a vision for Alberta’s
transportation system over the next 50 years. The Strategy will cover all forms
of transportation, connections and ways to move people and products. It will
also provide an overarching direction to help guide decisions on transportation
investments, policies and programs."

The Strategy is being developed based on
input obtained from Albertans during two phases of public consultations held in
early 2014.

During phase one, (January and February
2014) public consultation sessions were held in 18
communities throughout the province to seek input on the
Strategy’s development. Written feedback was also submitted to Alberta
Transportation for review. Input from phase one formed the foundation of the
draft Strategy that was made available for review and comment during phase two.

During phase two, (April and May 2014)
Albertans participated in an online public consultation about the draft
Strategy. Albertans read the draft Strategy and provided their
thoughts through a survey and/or an in-depth workbook. A facilitator’s handbook
was made available for interested parties to host their own discussions and
submit their input to Alberta Transportation. A comment box was provided on
Alberta Transportation’s website to submit comments on the draft Strategy.

If we have any questions or would like
additional information on the development of the Strategy, please contact
TransStrategy@gov.ab.ca or 780-641-9328 (dial 310-0000 first for toll-free
access anywhere in Alberta).

Alan then showed us three draft slides
titled ‘Proposed Vision, Recommended Goals,
and Suggested Actions’ and said there are also printed copies of the draft
Strategy, titled “Connecting Albertans with Each Other and the World: A Long-Term
Transportation”.

Our Proposed Vision: An integrated,
cost-efficient, multi-modal transportation system that is safe, affordable, and
accessible to all Albertans.

Alan then showed us the draft recommended goals:

Competitiveness, market access and economic
growth.

Active communities

Connected communities.

Safety and Security

Innovation and Technology

Environmental Stewardship

Long-term sustainability.

Alan then shared with us the part of the draft
plan for suggested actions for accessible transportation. However some of our
commentary also includes issues about safety, affordability and sustainability.
Found in various parts of the report from pages 8-13.

Implementing best practices in providing
reliable, accessible, and affordable and age friendly transit.

Alan said many partners, including the
federal government, the province, municipalities and industry, will have to
work together to help address these actions - it needs a coordinated effort.

2012 Letter to Government

When the Alberta government stopped giving Greyhound money to serve small towns in Alberta, Greyhound stopped going there. Now many Albertans who do not have a car are stuck. AACT sent a letter to the Alberta Minister of Transportation about this problem.

Each town or city does its own thing. Grande Prairie does not charge people with an AISH card at all to use the bus. Calgary has a reduced fare for people who have a low income which does not depend on having a disability. AACT keeps telling the Alberta government that we need one plan for all Alberta because transportation is an issue affecting all of us. So far they have not listened to us on this.